Background – renewed impetus for systematic demarcation – policy, legislative and operational frameworks. Systematic demarcation and poverty reduction – theoretical and conceptual frameworks, methodology. Outcomes of systematic demarcation – the demarcation process, transformations in land rights, including for children and women, asset enhancement, access to capital, farm investment and production, the land market, land disputes, area land committee operations, local parcel registration data bank. Conclusions and recommendations.

Covers background, property grabbing from widows, legal standards on the rights of widows, recommendations. Includes the rights of older people, the invisibility of widows in global policy and development, harmful practices and widows in Zimbabwe, illustrative cases of property grabbing from widows, registration of marriages, widowhood and child marriage, the impact of property grabbing on widows’ lives, remedies.

Includes background, tenure arrangements, women and land tenure, customary marriages, the land issue after apartheid, criticisms of the legislation, the relationship of land legislation to customary law, recommendations.

Includes background to women’s land rights in Uganda; lack of information; prevailing cultural attitudes that discriminate against women; lack of formal land ownership by women; lack of participation of women in land policy formulation; exclusion of women in matters of land inheritance; lack of access to justice; gaps in the ongoing land reform process; conclusions and recommendations.

The triple threat is of HIV/AIDS, food insecurity, and weakening capacity for service delivery in Southern Africa. The Mozambique paper focuses on livelihood security in Manica Province, space for social protection, using political capital to facilitate development, the Mozambique Land Law – an opportunity for sustainable livelihoods, supporting livelihoods – new approaches, treatment – the backbone of addressing AIDS, credit savings, and economic empowerment of women.

Delegates at the Harare conference on farm workers in Southern Africa noted with concern the continued marginalisation of farm worker communities and made recommendations on: weak labour legislation, citizenship rights, basic human rights, women farm workers/dwellers, HIV/AIDS, child labour and child abuse, globalization, debt cancellation, xenophobia, farm workers and land reform, the need for a regional summit.

Includes genesis of the CFJJ-FAO programme – policy and legal reforms, challenges for land governance today, legal empowerment and land governance; the twin-track approach; the training programme – paralegal courses, local government and sector officer seminars; results and impact – overall impact, gender issues and women’s land rights; discussion; a format for change – the empowerment chain. Important to have a long term view. The law indeed is not enough.

Includes background to women’s land rights in Zambia; policy and legal reforms of the1990s; key findings – gender insensitivity on land laws and policies, the high cost of legal fees to handle land disputes, the limited benefits of title deeds for women, lack of awareness on land policy process, land grabbing and disinheritance, lack of security of tenure, lack of access to justice; conclusions and recommendations.

This report covers the lunchtime lecture on “Securing Women’s Land Rights in Southern and Eastern Africa” organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association that took place at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday 8th February at 12.30, with the participation of Mokoro’s Elizabeth Daley. Also speaking were Simon Levine of ODI and Ruchi Tripathi of ActionAid International, with Heidi Alexander MP in the Chair.

Includes experiences from the field (East Africa, Malawi, Cameroon, Senegal, Colombia, Pakistan). Lessons learned include participation-oriented research methods are recommended. Merely passing legislation is of little effect without the necessary resources for implementation, monitoring reforms or effective sanctions. Crucial to consult and involve women when designing reforms and monitoring their implementation. Addressing land injustices requires varied approaches. Vital to establish and maintain links among research, policy, practice and people.

A serious study of a neglected field, drawing on research, workshops, and personal and organisational testimonies. Covers Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Aims to raise awareness of the heavy impact of HIV and AIDS on women’s property rights and livelihoods, and the active steps being taken by many grassroots organisations to respond to the crisis. Looks at a number of creative initiatives such as the Memory Book Project in Uganda.

A new DFID Policy Paper on land, divided into four sections: landmark issues (unequal distribution and insecure tenure); how secure access to land can promote shared growth; good governance � the vital ingredient in land reform; DFID’s approach to land issues. DFID is currently supporting work on land in 21 countries, including Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. Argues that ‘while it is important to keep working for good governance overall, the land sector demands dedicated focus’.